


Making Memories

by notmyyacht



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Emotions, Future Fic, Height Differences, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Post-Infinity War, Sledding, Sunsets
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-23
Updated: 2017-12-23
Packaged: 2019-02-18 21:46:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,426
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13109151
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/notmyyacht/pseuds/notmyyacht
Summary: Tony reluctantly asks Loki to go sledding with him. Everyone is surprised when Loki says yes.





	Making Memories

**Author's Note:**

> For day nine of the 12 Days of Holiday Shipping Challenge! Prompt: Sledding
> 
> Completely unbeta'd! Any and all mistakes are on me.

Tony couldn’t fucking believe this. What a bunch of spoilsports. In the back of his mind a tiny voice reminded him of the day they just had. Of course nobody wanted to go sledding.

A weekend of R&R with the newly reunited team had seemed like the perfect getaway. God knows they all needed it. Tony had rented out an entire resort in the Swiss mountains just for them. They had all gotten up at the crack of dawn just to hit the slopes and work off some steam.

By lunch, half the team called it quits and decided to stay inside the rest of the day. Tony, Natasha, Steve, and Thor went right back into it for a couple hours. Tony thought they were heading back inside just to warm up, but nope. The other three were done for the day as well.

Tony wasn’t ready though. The resort also had sleds and the idea of pushing an oversized Thor in a small tube down a hill sounded like the best way to finish off a day.

“No, my friend, I think I’ll stay inside and keep warm,” said Thor, downing a mug of hot cocoa. Tony narrowed his eyes at him. Thor was supposed to be the fun one.

Thor leaned in then and whispered.

“You should ask my brother. He hasn’t joined in the fun at all since we’ve arrived.” He spared a glance at Loki, who sat in a large cushioned chair in the corner, reading a book, minding his own business. “He needs it.”

Tony cringed at the mere thought. Suddenly his hilarious image of Thor in a sled was replaced by Loki pushing Tony’s dead body down a hill instead, all the while laughing like a maniac.

“Are you kidding me?” Tony whispered back.

“I’m serious,” Thor insisted, “I know nobody likes him, especially the Avengers, but I can’t keep being the one offering peace branches.”

“He and Natasha had a drinking contest the other night,” Tony pointed out.

“Yes, and that was good. I think one more push and he’ll come around. Loki is many things but it’s better to have him as an ally than an enemy, as our bout with Thanos showed.”

“He betrayed us before he betrayed Thanos.”

“He did indeed,” Thor said with a smile.

Tony sighed and glanced over at Loki, whose brow was now furrowed in concentration and his lips pressed into a hard line.

“You really think we can make him an ally?”

“Perhaps. Or perhaps at least make him a friend,” Thor said with a shrug.

“There’s a difference?”

“To Loki, there is.”

It didn’t make sense. Tony did not want to befriend Loki, but the idea of going sledding alone sounded miserable.

What harm would it do to ask?

“Alright,” he muttered to Thor, before heading over to the corner.

Loki didn’t look up from his book, but his face no longer looked constipated. Instead, his features were more relaxed with only a small crease between in eyebrows in thought. What the hell was he reading?

“Hey,” said Tony.

Loki gave no response and turned the page of his book.

“ _Hey_ ,” Tony repeated.

Loki looked up at him without turning his head.

“You wanna go sledding?”

The entire living room fell deafeningly silent as every pair of eyes turned to them. Tony could feel each one of them on the back of his head, wordlessly asking if he just lost his mind –save the one eye of Thor of course.

Loki said nothing for a few moments. It was hard to tell if he was genuinely thinking it over or just making Tony _wait_ for his reply. Tony wasn’t sure which option he preferred, or which answer he wanted to hear for that matter.

“Alright.”

Tony blinked.

Loki closed his book and stood.

“Lead the way, Stark,” he said.

Tony blinked a few more times as he felt every pair of eyes on them widen in surprise. He bet that if he turned around now, every jaw would be on the floor.

Tony Stark was going to go sledding with Loki. Weirder things have happened.

The resort only had inflatable donut-shaped tubes. According to the only staff member on duty, they were rarely used since most came there for the skiing. The girl behind the counter asked what colors they wanted. Tony picked out the red one for himself, while surprise surprise, Loki picked the green one.

As the sleds were being inflated, Tony took the moment to eye Loki’s clothes. He wore a long black peacoat over his casual wear and a long stylish scarf that just hung around his neck without overlapping; he had decided to forgo a hat and gloves. The guy looked like he was going to the opera instead of being prepared for outdoor winter activities.  

“Aren’t you going to be cold?” Tony asked.

“No,” said Loki.

“Aren’t you at least going to button up your coat?”

Loki frowned.

“Is my attire so important to you, Stark?”

“I don’t know how Asgardian DNA works, or how much cold you guys can stand, but I’m getting frostbite just looking at you. The temps out there are in the single digits.”

“What, my brother didn’t tell you?” Loki’s voice rang with disbelief.

“He said you’re adopted…”

Loki rolled his eyes.

“My birth parents were _frost giants_. I’m not going to get frostbite simply because I did not button my coat,” he sneered.

Tony raised his hands in surrender.

“Then why wear the coat at all?” he said.

Loki opened his mouth, then closed it. He glared long and hard into Tony’s face. Tony pursed his lips, waiting for the answer that he was starting to think didn’t exist; either that or it was for reasons Loki didn’t wish to share.

Without a word, Loki reached up and crossed his scarf at his collarbone; he made swift work and buttoned up his coat. An act of defiance. What a drama queen.

“Your sleds are ready!” said the girl. She had been attending to the Avengers all day, helping them pick out gear and such. She looked exhausted. Tony told her to take the rest of the night off.

 

Tony frowned down at the remains of his phone in the snow. Lesson learned. Ask the God of Mischief if you can take a picture of him holding a green inflatable tube sled before actually trying to be stealthy and take one when he isn’t looking.

“Are we sledding or is this a photoshoot, Stark?” the irritation in Loki’s voice was starting to become dangerous. What that meant Tony wasn’t sure: either Loki was going to snap and kill him or simply return to the resort.

“Sledding, we’re sledding,” said Tony, taking a few large steps to catch up with him.

Reaching the designated sledding area, Tony set his sled down on the edge of the hill. Eager, he made himself comfortable in the donut hole. He looked up and saw that Loki hadn’t moved, but was watching him intently.

“Have you never been sledding?” he asked.

“I have, but not in… these,” said Loki. He gave the green sled a once-over, as if he expected it to bite him.

“Watch and learn, Rudolph,” said Tony, placing his hand on the ground beside him. With a single push, he was off.

The icy wind rushed passed his face and snowflakes stuck to his facial hair. He reached in the bottom of the steep hill in no time, his heart pounding in exhilaration. He laughed and clambered to his feet. At the top of the hill, Loki stood. Tony waved, gesturing for him to follow.

Loki set his sled as Tony had, but stared down at it, as if not sure how to approach it.

Tony cupped his hands over his mouth. “Just sit in it!”

Loki stepped around the donut, looking for an entryway. Tony was about to shout up to him again, but all at once Loki made to sit in the hole and accidentally kicked himself off the edge of the hill.

With a yelp, Loki slid down the hill backwards, his long hair whipping into his face. His sled came to a stop inches away from Tony.

Tony wished he had waited until then to use his phone. A video of Loki sledding backwards would have been quite a thing to share with Thor when they got back.

Loki rolled himself out of the tube and jumped to his feet. His cheeks were pink and he looked more irritated than ever.

“Don’t look at me like that. You did that yourself,” said Tony with a grin.

Loki snatched up the handle of his sled and proceeded to make his way back up the hill. Tony followed suit.

Back at the top, Loki set his tube on the edge again, this time giving himself room so that he could properly sit in it. Except he didn’t. He lay face forward on it, then pushed himself off. Tony could swear he saw a smile on his face.

Tony set his own sled down and moved to sit in it the same way as last time. There was plenty of time for changing it up. Just as he bent over it to step in, a voice from over his shoulder said, “Hurry up Stark.” Tony startled and fell forward onto the tube. With the momentum, he and the sled went down the side of the hill.

 _This is really it_ , he thought, _this is how I die._

Tony was kneeling in the tube, his feet stuck under his ass at the back of the donut and his hands holding himself up at the front. He felt his hat go flying. Before he knew it, he was at the bottom.

Loki was already halfway up the hill, laughing. The clone of him stood at the top and laughed too.

Tony stumbled out of the donut and landed on his back.

“Okay, okay, hahaha you got me,” he said, getting to his feet. He grabbed his sled and ran to catch up with Loki, whose laughter had softened to a chuckle.

“Race me if you’re such a sledding god,” he said, hoping Loki wouldn’t notice how winded he was. Loki quirked an eyebrow at him.

“And if I win?”

“I won’t tell Thor you wiped out on your first time down.”

“But I didn’t. I fell backwards and made it down the entire way in my sled.”

“Thor doesn’t know that,” said Tony with a smirk.

“And they say _I’m_ evil and not to be trusted,” Loki grumbled.

They breached the top, Tony feeling out of breath, while Loki seemed fine. Stupid Asgardian stamina… Frost giant stamina… whatever.

“What happens if you win?” asked Loki.

“We get to stay out here as long as I want… and I get to take a picture of you in your donut.” Tony held his head high with confidence.

“I don’t see how either victory is beneficial to me,” said Loki. “If I win you are not to tell Thor lies of my failure at sledding _and_ …”

“And?”

Loki clenched his jaw. He wanted a secondary prize, but it seemed he wasn’t sure what.

“I’ll decide on that when I win,” he finished. Tony rolled his eyes, but offered a hand.

“Deal.”

They shook on it then both placed their sleds in place. Loki chose the same position as before, on his stomach. Tony lay on his back as he had the first time.

“Ready?”

“Ready.”

“Go!” Tony said, pushing himself off. Loki did the same.

Tony only just remembered his lost hat as the wind blew through his hair. He glanced over at his competitor and saw they were neck-and-neck. They should have dragged Natasha out here to referee.

Just then there was a bump under Tony’s sled. Then another. Shit. That cheating bastard-

Another, sharper bump snagged onto Tony’s sled and he went flying.

Tony rolled on his side, unable to stop and accelerating. The snow clung to his coat and hair as he fell. If he survived this, he was _definitely_ going to bruise. Suddenly his distorted image he had had before when Thor first suggested asking Loki to go sledding didn’t seem so inaccurate.

He managed to reach the bottom of the hill without dying. He spat out a mouthful of snow and groaned, his right arm aching. The ground spun under him and Tony had trouble focusing on the clouds in the late afternoon sky.

Loki’s face came into view, and Tony finally was able to focus on him.

“Son of a…” he growled.

“Are you hurt?”

Tony’s brow furrowed.

“What?”

Loki glanced over his body.

“Did you break anything? You mortals are so damn brittle. Sometimes I wonder if you enjoy teasing death.” Was Loki… concerned?

“You didn’t do this?”

“Of course not. I was winning until you tumbled,” said Loki, looking at the arm Tony only just realized he was clutching. “Is your arm broken?”

“No, I don’t think so. I just landed on it. Hey…”

But Loki was already pushing Tony’s sleeve up and examining his forearm. He pressed and prodded.

“Try moving it,” he said. Tony raised it, bent his elbow, and made a fist at Loki’s request. Satisfied, Loki brought his sleeve down. “Doesn’t look too bad. It’s not broken or fractured. You should be fine.”

“Thanks Doc,” said Tony, sitting up. He gazed about, looking for his sled. Loki pointed to Tony’s left. There in the snow sat the deflated red tube sled, a giant hole pierced into the side of it.

“Must have caught on ice or rock,” said Loki.

Tony rolled his shoulder, hearing a satisfying pop. With the initial pain in his arm gone, along with the dizziness, he stood.

“Guess we’re done,” he said.

“Not necessarily,” said Loki.

Tony looked down at him. Loki wasn’t looking at him, but up at the pale pink sky with that look that gave reason he was deep in thought. That peaceful faraway look that Tony couldn’t help but think made Loki seem less the monster he had met years ago.

“We could have one more go,” Loki continued, “even if it’s just to see the sunset at the top.”

“Sounds good,” replied Tony.

They were silent as they made their way to the top of the hill for the last time.

“Why did you want to go sledding?” Loki asked at they reached the top.

“Always thought sledding was fun,” Tony said with a shrug.

“You could have waited until tomorrow. I’m certain your friends would have joined you then. You didn’t have to ask me.”

Tony looked up at the sky, which was now a much darker pink, with some orange mixed in.

“Last time I went sledding, it was when I was a kid. I was eleven. My mom took me. It’s a good memory and after everything we’ve been through, I thought it was time to make some more good memories. Pepper… Pepper, my girlfriend, and I broke up…” Tony fidgeted. Why was he telling Loki all of this? But Loki stood there and listened.

“I just wanted to do it. I _couldn’t_ wait, but I didn’t want to do it alone. It didn’t feel right.”

Loki nodded slightly, understanding.

“When I was ten,” he said, hesitant to continue, but did so anyway, “my mother brought Thor and I to the mountains and taught us how to ski. She was so good at it. We built a fire and she told us stories of Ullr, the greatest Asgardian skier of all time. Of course, Thor was a natural. I never quite took to it so easily, but that was a good day.”

“Is that why you said yes when I asked?”

Loki nodded.

Tony slowly breathed in the chill mountain air as they both gazed at the sunset.

“It’s beautiful here,” said Loki.

“Yeah.”

After a minute, Tony looked down at the single sled left.

“So,” he said, breaking the moment, “we gonna take turns?”

Loki smiled.

“Actually, I’ve got a better idea,” he replied, raising his hand over the sled. The tube morphed into a longer oval with a bridge in the center. He lowered his hand. “You want the front or back?”

A moment later, Tony was settled into the front with Loki behind him. It wasn’t until they were in this position did Tony feel vulnerable. They sat at the edge of the hill with a perfect final view of the sunset.

“Hold on,” said Loki.

With a brief flash of green, the sled dipped forward and sped off down the hill. It felt faster that Tony’s previous rides had been. Whether it was because of Loki’s magic or because there was more momentum behind them, Tony didn’t dwell on it. It didn’t matter. They were having fun.

“Wahoo!” he exclaimed. He heard Loki chuckle behind him.

The sled slid along the bottom of the hill, taking its time to come to a complete stop. Tony laughed as he jumped out of the tube. Loki stood with a grin and changed the sled back into the smaller donut. He picked it up by the handle.

“Shall we?” he said.

 

It was dark by the time they arrived back at the resort.

Loki placed the sled beside the desk, where the girl had told them to leave them when they were finished. Tony placed what was left of his sled beside it.

“You never did tell me what your other condition was if you had won our race,” said Tony.

Loki looked at him a moment.

“I was going to say that we do this again during our time here,” he said.

A smile spread across Tony’s face.

“You didn’t have to beat me at a race for that to happen, though now I am guaranteed to get a picture of you in the donut, if you thought I’d forgotten.”

Loki’s eyebrows drew inward.

“You did _not_ win. It was a draw.”

Tony took a step closer, getting in Loki’s personal bubble.

“Oh, was it?” he said.

“Yes! You fell off your sled halfway. That’s not sledding. That’s failure. Just because you reached the bottom first doesn’t mean you won.”

“Is that so?”

“Stark, you really are…” Loki trailed off. His face and Tony’s were only about an inch away from each other.

“I’m what?”

“ _Impossible_ ,” Loki growled.

“Yeah, but you kinda like that, I think.”

Loki’s eyes bugged in fury. He grabbed Tony by the front of his coat and pulled him close enough so their noses bumped; Tony did the rest and leaned in, pressing his mouth against Loki’s. For a frost giant, Loki’s lips were actually quite warm. Tony wanted to bury his cold face against his. Loki moaned slightly and frantically grabbed at Tony’s coat, trying to keep him as flush against him as possible, which would have been easier if Loki didn’t have a good half a foot on him.

Tony laced his hands through Loki’s wind-chilled hair, pulling him down slightly so he wouldn’t have to stand on his tip-toes. Loki bit at his lower lip and reached a hand around to grasp at Tony’s back. Tony opened his mouth to allow that skilled tongue to explore where it may.

Loki brought his other hand down to grab a handful of Tony’s ass, dragging his hips closer so he could grind them against his own. Tony gave a pleased hum against his mouth. Loki brought his other hand further down to cup under Tony. A second later and Tony felt himself being lifted from the ground. He wrapped his legs around Loki’s waist and held onto his shoulders for support.

They finally broke the kiss, now at eye-level with each other.

“Bed,” said Loki.

“Bed,” Tony agreed.

He leaned in and kissed Loki again, grinding his hips again to get as much friction as he could.

Neither heard the door open.

“…sure they’re fine- _Whoa!_ ”

Tony and Loki broke off and looked to the doorway where Natasha and Thor stood. Everyone stared wide-eyed at each other for a moment. Natasha was the first to relax.

“Honestly, I shouldn’t be surprised,” she commented.

“Stark, when I said Loki needed friends, I hope you are aware I did not mean this,” said Thor.

Loki rolled his eyes and set Tony down.

Natasha’s eye caught the deflated sled beside the desk. She blinked and looked back over at the pair.

“So, how was the sledding?”

**Author's Note:**

> And then they went off and totally banged.


End file.
